H. Blairman & Sons Ltd

Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-78)

Manufactured by Francis Skidmore (1817-96)

Brass, wrought and cast iron, with traces of polychrome painted decoration and hardstone cabochons (the supporting stand of later date)

71 x 117 x11 cm

English (Coventry), circa 1862

By repute the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (Leeds Minster), 1839-41 by Robert Dennis Chantrell (1793-1872)

The design of the gates should be compared with the grilles on the Hereford Screen, now at the V&A; see The Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue of the International Exhibition 1862, p. 158; detail below.

See British Art Studies, Issue 7 (April 2017): https://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk/issues/issue-index/issue-5/hereford-intro  For a discussion on the relationship between designer and maker, see, in particular, Alicia Robinson ‘Collaborations Between Scott and Skidmore’, https://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk/issues/issue-index/issue-5/scott-skidmore

The present gates have features in common with some of the best known nineteenth-century iron work produced by Skidmore.  Examples, in addition to the Hereford Screen, include the Lichfield Screen, 1855-61 and the Albert Memorial, 1866-75.

See Huw Jones and Annette Wickham, Francis Skidmore: A Coventry Craftsman, Coventry, 2003.

No physical or documentary evidence has been found to confirm the provenance of these gates.